All of the mages were glaring balefully at their captors, holed up deep, deep underground in an enormous, massive cavern. The dragons had taken all of them and the many hundreds of human prisoners they'd caught along with them into someplace they were sure no humans would find them, down into an enormous system of caverns. They followed the dragons along a long, carved hallway, as neatly worked walls of stone headed around one bend, then another. Suspended blue orbs lit the way as they continued onward, several dragons needing to change their size, to their more humanoid form, others having to crouch down so as to avoid hitting the ceiling.

They followed a series of turns, all of polished stone, all lit by the same glowing spheres. The hallway slanted downward, and the air became colder. After some time, the leading dragon, Phalanx, stepped out of another archway and they, at last…saw it. An enormous city of dragons. The enormous cavern they'd been led into had been bigger than the doors to any castle but that'd been as nothing compared to the sight before them. Indeed, any human city was seemingly like a bird's nest compared to this deep, underground chamber. Dragons were flying overhead, in nice, big circles across dome-shaped buildings, an intricate series of waterways had been set up. Bridges crossed the rivers in regular locations as far as their eyes could see, and flat topped spires reached into the sky from some of the larger buildings, whilst others had tall pillars that were billowing steam into the air.

There were dragons of all shapes, colors and sizes there, walking through the streets as easily as a human did in a normal city…only all far bigger. They were mostly Western and Asian dragons, but there were, distinctly, a few Middle Eastern-looking dragons, with ornate, beautiful hooded apparel and necklaces, some powerfully built, others slender and svelte, and they had considerably more brownish/golden colors to them than the Western or Eastern dragons.

Huge glowing orbs of light were suspended in the air to provide more light as our heroes gazed out upon the city. You could faintly see posts jutting up in the streets with more orbs of light stationed atop. Clearly, the whole city was alit with these orbs. To the left of the archway they stood in, a series of rock steps led up to an overhang several hundred feet from the ground, and they continued up it, led by the dragons who glanced back at their many prisoners.

At the top there was a vast platform with many clay-looking mounds. They almost looked like pottery baskets, and a distinctly feminine dragon who had deep golden scales on her body, clearly a Middle Eastern dragon based on the headdress she wore, and the vest over her chest, examined them. That was when they got a good look at these "pottery baskets". Oh my! They were baby dragons! They looked rather cute, really, like little horned newts and salamanders, but much bigger, and with tiny nubs where their wings would be.

That cuteness was destroyed in a matter of seconds as the dragon with deep blue scales, the faintly serpentine frame rising up, let out a deliberate, dark, hissing cry. The lucky ones were the ones who'd seen him rising up and stepping forward who covered their ears, but…many didn't, and the Middle Eastern dragon grabbed hold of quite a few of these now-frozen people, putting them into a bowl nearby, tying them up with string, binding their hands and feet before holding one up…over the clay nest.

"Oh dear GOD." Eli whispered as Cu Chulainn pulled him close and let him look away.

It was horrifying. The man's screams were drowned out by the sound of the young dragons fighting over and devouring him, rending his flesh, consuming him piecemeal until he couldn't even scream anymore. Elisud felt Cu Chulainn's fingers digging into him, his skin pale not from nausea but raw rage. Erimentha gripped Hadiya's hand tight. Seiichi held his hands over his mouth and felt the bile rise, and he couldn't force it down, he vomited onto the ground, Leopold gently patting him on the back as Tobias's hands became fists, balled tight by his side.

He kept standing up. His pure raw hatred against this act of sheer cruelty was supporting him. He felt nothing but righteous indignation towards this…this MONSTER.

"There are worse ways to die." The middle eastern dragon said, looking over at Tobias, speaking simply. "And you'll find out what those are if you do not obey the will of your masters and mistresses." She added.

They were led past her and the nests, down more stairs, into the city below, marched along the streets, dragons stopping to stare at them. The domed buildings had intricate, beautiful carvings that Eri probably would have appreciated in any other setting, they were, indeed, dazzling to behold. The craftsmanship and creativity was stunning, really. One dome showed dragons in a circle, joining claws in the center, holding up the Earth itself, she assumed. Another showed them in heated battle, with vivid detail.

In the center was a big arena that they passed by, stopping momentarily to gaze at it. The mages and the many human prisoners soon wish they hadn't, because whatever was in that arena wasn't human NOR monster.

"…we have…experience with demons." Phalanx spoke up quietly. "When we made places like this our home, we found quite a few of them hiding in the dark, simply…waiting. Biding their time. We lost many, many good dragons to them before we turned the tide with sheer numbers, raw power, just…throwing ourselves at them again and again. Eventually not even these legions could stop us."

The things in the arena hissed and snarled. Mouths with fangs that seemed far too large to let anyone eat properly, gaping circular mouths and groping tentacles, molten red eyes, bodies that seemed to be made up of nothing but oily boils that drizzled ooze every once in a while. Eventually they passed by this arena, heading down another set of stairs, and into an enormous underground room of some kind with big, fancy, embroidered pillows. Phalanx sat on one of them, several other dragons sitting as well, including the enormous blue one with the horrifying, freezing hiss.

Their tails wrapped their body, their wings tucked up against their sides, if they had wings. They all had belts around them, the same metal composition of the slave collars the mages had been forced to wear. Phalanx whistled, as human servants raced out of hallways, bringing a big, fat glass pipe. It was being filled with bushels of what looked like some kind of drug, and another held a torch up to these leaves as Phalanx quietly smoked it, and then every once in a while, let out a soft blow of smoke from his mouth.

"My name, as you know, is Phalanx. This is Shenjiying." Phalanx gestured at a large red-scaled Asian dragon who calmly blew a ring of smoke out of her nostrils. That is Majalun." This golden dragon had deep, rich brown scales like the most elegant tree in the woods, with glistening golden eyes, who sat, calmly, looking over all of the mages. "That's Schiltron, the black dragon you see." The dark-scaled dragon whistled a bit as some human servants brought her a very large bull that had clearly been roasted and cooked, and she began nibbling on it. "Tercio, he's the blue dragon there." The more serpentine blue dragon simply nodded, curtly. "And Akshauhini, the green dragon." This green dragon was a slender one, but he was a male, and he was leaning back on his enormous pillow. He looked at them, an invisible eyebrow raised up, looking…clearly aroused.

"Good Lord, man, regard yourself in front." Elisud muttered, glancing to the side.

"Interesting you invoke your Lord." The green dragon remarked as he clapped his hands and a human servant pair brought him a towel that he began to wrap around his waist to turn into a makeshift loincloth, several others bringing him a nice flag of wine that he began to sip from. "You see, we're not just your masters now, whom our every whim must be adhered to. We are your gods. You will listen to us, and obey us, or you'll die. Plain and simple. And if you think we won't DARE harm mages that could be so useful, well…"

"Perhaps a demonstration?" Schiltron inquired as she finished up her bull and then tapped on the belt she had on, looking squarely in Tobias's direction. "On…the one with that oh so determined face, that looks like he wants to skin me."

"I'm very tempted, yes." Tobias said. "You should count yourself lucky I'm not so cruel."

"Unfortunately you can count yourself very unlucky. Because I, regrettably, am VERY cruel." Schiltron remarked. "I know who you are, little prince. You've always had power simply because of who you were related to. You lucked out in gaining the position you did. My parents, lying dying in the war against the hordes down below, taught me a different lesson. The world does not owe you anything out of blood, or creed, or mercy. You only get what you take from it, and more importantly, what you keep. It has made me cold and hard. And you're about to find out just how much so."

She pressed a small portion of her belt that looked like a gemstone of some kind and it was positively agonizing. He couldn't move. He couldn't squirm. It was just like being hammered, as if somebody was embedding gigantic spikes into him made up of the very concept of pain. PAIN. PAIN. PAIN. He wanted to scream. He wanted to yell. But he couldn't even move his mouth, all he could do was scrunch his eyes tight, waiting for it to be over.

After what seemed like an agonizing hour when, in truth, it lasted a mere 60 seconds, he collapsed onto his knees and his hands, shaking, quaking, some blood dribbling out the side of his mouth as the other mages rushed to help him up, Schiltron nonchalantly smiling.

"You FETID piece of-" Cu Chulainn began to snarl.

He didn't get to finish, because now Shenjiying tapped the belt she had on, looking at him. It felt like his body was red hot. He flopped onto the ground, howling, clawing at himself. It was just burning, burning, burning all over! He screamed and yelled as Elisud knelt by him, trying to hold him, to comfort him as Majalun tapped HER belt, looking at the young green mage.

The poor young man lost all control of his body, flopping around, slumping to the floor, his arms and legs moving him all about despite him unable to control an ounce of it.

Eri and Hadiya tried to pin him to the ground, and they were actually succeeding, looking defiantly up at the dragons as Akshauhini grinned. "Ooh, that IS impressive. But…well, so's this." He said as he looked squarely at Eri and tapped his own belt. Before she could stop herself, she was lifted up into the air, and then tossed around in every direction that Akshauhini pointed at. THWAM! Right into the wall! THWAM! Right into the ground! Hadiya screamed in horror, gasping, seeing poor Eri's blood adding accents to the artwork on the walls.

"You sadistic, foul, evil-" She snarled, turning on the dragons just as Phalanx looked at her, activating his own belt. Before she could do anything, a series of flowers began to emerge from the slave collar she had, wrapping around her, thorns growing on the stems connected to the flowers! They dug into her skin as she struggled to get them off, and the more she struggled, the larger they grew! It was agonizing, horrifying, she finally flopped to the ground, on her belly, panting, heaving, bloodied and…beaten. All of them, just…beaten.

At last, the punishments ended as the pain left them and they were allowed back up, the many human prisoners with them gulping fearfully as Phalanx calmly cleared his throat.

"Do you understand now? We are your gods. We own you. We control you. We created you, and we can destroy you. Do you understand?"

"Clear as day." Tobias muttered. "…right?" He quietly asked as he glanced at the others, who all nodded.

"I'm glad to hear it." Phalanx intoned. "Now, you'll all be taken to where you'll be sleeping and staying from now on. I suggest you get some rest. You're all going to need it." He commented as he clapped his hands, various other human servants emerging from the nearby halls to lead them away. "And again…don't even think of trying to escape. We are your gods. And if you anger your gods…eternal damnation awaits you. And believe us…we know all about eternal damnation."

…

…

…

…Mr. Bloke had never, ever raced so fast across anything as he was doing even now. But he poured his way in the direction of where Mr. Tobias's soul was, the mirror he had tucked away with him faintly pulsating like the beating of a heart. He couldn't feel anything else, not the spray of sea foam on his face, nor the sea wind barreling down on him, no, all he felt was the faint pulse of the mirror. He continued to barrel at top speed towards the direction dear Tobias was as he soared across the ocean.

The ghost monster knew, truth be told, his time on this world was very limited indeed. He had made a vow, a promise, to look our for his children as long as he could, and to help dear Tobias become a good, decent king. He would not pass on until he did that, no matter how much he heard the call of the other side. His love for them was too great, and his sense of honor just as much.

But even though he couldn't get tired, or hungry, he was feeling…stretched. The longer he remained on this earth, the more "stretched" he felt. He knew, deep down, that there was a limit to even his kind of loyalty. The spirit was willing, yes, but this ghostly "flesh" he had was weak. He probably didn't have more than a year left if he was lucky, but…if he could just do this one, last, important thing…

From where he was right now, based on how fast he was going, he imagined his spiritual form had been barreling across the sea for a good week now. A week under the horrors of dragon kind, who knew what they'd been doing to the mages? And Heaven knew what they'd been doing to human settlements in the mean time in Ireland now that the land's greatest warriors were captured and demoralized and…and perhaps…maybe even-

No. NO, he wouldn't allow himself to think they were dead. He refused. His eyes blazed pure white as he barreled across the seas, the coast now, at long last, in sight. If all went well, he'd be at that cavern he saw Tobias going into within a day. "Just hold on, dear prince. Hold on. I will be there…soon."

Meanwhile, the mages had to take care of the Sapphire Well. The blue orbs that created light in the city were all linked to this beautiful, ancient artifact, which was constructed over a giant, open, geothermal vent. The rising steam moved gears and pullies and paddles and levers and it provided the power to light the entire dragon city. Without it, everything there would go dark. It had also been adapted to control a series of drains and flood gates that maintained the waterways of the city. Without the well purging excess water, the city would flood.

And the dragons? Well, they didn't do anything to support or maintain their own basic needs. If a human could do it…a human did it. This left the dragons to pursue more…leisurely activities. Like art, or philosophy or sport or magic. Maintaining the Sapphire Well was a lot of work for poor Tobias, Cu Chulainn, Hadiya, Erimentha, Leopold, Seiichi and Elisud, but it was better than…say…being in the arena. That arena didn't just hold monsters. It would hold humans. They'd be given weapons, of course, and a chance to fight back to win their freedom. But they always, always lost. Nobody had ever gone the five rounds necessary to win. They just couldn't fight well enough against the monsters. And the dragons weren't going to let any of the mages try their hands at this, not even without their magic. Especially not Cu Chulainn. They weren't stupid, after all.

They had hoped, however, a chance to get free might show itself…when Akshauhini had asked to be alone with Erimentha. Just him…her…in his private quarters. And he never, ever seemed to take a much larger form. Perhaps…maybe, just MAYBE, she could kill him, and thus, find a way to free herself and the others. She complied with his order as she was led down a hallway into his private bedroom, which was huge, with ornate, flowery-looking curtains that overlooked large windows that peered out over the city. A stained glass window was over his luxurious bed, and Akshauhini laid down upon it, waiting for her to join him as she slid onto it as well.

It was very soft and comfortable, clearly the finest of downy feathers had been put into the big blanket she now laid on as Akshauhini looked her squarely in the face, and then reached over to a drawer, pulling out a large pad of papyrus, and what was distinctly a drawing implement.

"Here." He said. "I want you to draw me…like one of those French girls." He said softly as she looked down at his naked, exposed body. "…as close to it as possible."

She stared. "Wait…like…literally?" She inquired as he nodded.

"Yes." He said as she stared back at him, confused, but…she did what she was told, and began carefully drawing him, trying to give him slightly more feminine features. "Not, um…not too…don't give me very large breasts or anything." He added quietly as she continued to draw, biting her lip a bit, glancing up at him every once in a while. The air was thick with tension, so much so you not only couldn't have cut through it with a knife, it would take a SAW to get through, but at last she'd finished, and she showed off the picture as he gazed over it. "…I'm beautiful." He said quietly, gazing down at it with awe.

"You don't like how I look?"

"I don't feel like how I look." The dragon told her. "I don't know how it is for humans, or for women like you, but for…people like me, I suppose, we…I don't feel like a man. At least, not all of the time. Sometimes I just wish I could run away to a private island and be there with a beautiful man and woman, where nobody would judge us." Akshauhini confessed. "The other dragons may say they don't mind but…they can't help but remain continuously confused by my…desires. So they don't ask questions because trying to understand just…confuses them more."

"So you're neither man, nor woman, is that what you're saying?" Erimentha inquired. "Or at least, that's how your body feels?

"It's how my very soul feels. I can only imagine what I'd look like with a body more befitting what I feel like on the inside. I don't have the talent for transformation magic. None of us here for something of that level, that would alter your body so drastically. It's one thing to faintly look like a human, and another to have a much larger and bestial form but for something such as this?" He gave Erimentha back her picture. "It requires a far more delicate touch and only I could do it…and I'm not skilled enough. I'm just not."

Akshauhini sighed and glanced out the window. "…just…lie in my bed with me." He quietly asked. "I'd like to…pretend…for a few hours. That's all I ask for now."

Eri quietly nodded and put the drawing on a nearby chair, lying on the bed as he stroked over her, then nestled against her body, slightly inhaling her scent, and murmuring softly to himself, one hand stroking over his own chest. Eri felt a strange sensation in her. A sense of…repulsion, but at the same time…pity. These dragons were monstrous and yet also…miserable. And the worst part was, she understood how it felt to feel an outsider in your own body. She had felt similarly when she'd first learned of her own desires. Being where she'd been from, the idea of men sleeping with women was simply "the norm" and anything beyond that was…alien. Strange. Unusual. Even wrong. So she'd thought she, in turn, had been "wrong", and she'd internalized that for months on end before finally deciding that no…how she felt wasn't wrong at all. She loved who she loved, and it was as simple as that.

The things people did…for love.

That thought kept coming to all of their minds. Because they noticed Phalanx kept asking, again and again, from the other dragon lords that reigned over the city, if Sakamoto had been found. Again and again, the answer was no, and Phalanx kept looking more and more distraught. After a week of being forced to work for the dragons, with Eri painting more of Akshauhini's picture, with the mages working in the dark depths of the well, Phalanx had, at last, come by the Sapphire Well to inspect them, and Seiichi finally asked the question that'd been on his mind.

"Why do you care about Sakamoto?"

Phalanx had quickly glanced in his direction. He'd scowled at first but…then he'd dismissed the other dragons there as he quietly looked into Seiichi's eyes.

"I know he loved you." He spoke up in a soft whisper. "So I'll tell you this. He's my grandson." He confessed. "My daughter moved to the East and married a Japanese dragon, and he's all I've left of my family after…well…"

Seiichi stared in confusion. "What about your daughter? Or your wife? Or your son in law?"

"No doubt you think dragons convey only respect where you are. That wasn't always true. Idiots think that Asian dragons keep gigantic, priceless pearls under their jaws, tucked under their tongue, if I remember correctly." Phalanx spoke bitterly. "My family and I were visiting my newborn son when a warlord and his army decided to find out if this was true when we were at our most vulnerable, in a far-off village in the south of Japan. We disliked his reign over his people, we found him crude and rude and repulsive, but my daughter and her husband in law had lived there for a decade. We thought we were safe. Then I realize too late our drinks have been drugged. Every last barrel. And I awoke to find them trying to skin my daughter to see if the pearl is hidden somewhere else besides under her tongue, my son in law's wife speared through their…everything, my son in law nearly dead…and…and Sakamoto mercifully, only tied up and bound. He was after all, a newborn, perhaps they felt a shred of pity for one so young and helpless. I didn't show them any pity after I awoke, I promise you."

The mages glanced at each other as Phalanx quietly sighed. "I know full well you despise me and my kind right now. You're welcome to that. I don't have much fondness for your race either. But we're simply siding with monsters for pragmatic reasons right now. If you humans gained the greater forces, we would side with you."

With that, he left the Sapphire Well, leaving them alone as Tobias quietly looked at the pulley system he was cleaning, thinking quietly before he resumed scrubbing.

"…I miss Sakamoto." Seiichi murmured.

"…I currently despise all dragons with a white hot intensity." Cu Chulainn muttered. "But I can tell he really cared about you. I'm sorry he couldn't convince his grandfather there to stop this."

"Where COULD he be, though…" Leopold murmured. "…where could he have gone?"

Where indeed. Sakamoto had taken off as things had gotten bad, but that was so he could secretly follow after them. He'd been following their tracks but had remained a safe distance away so the dragons couldn't smell or hear him, keeping in his smaller form, and rubbing mud and dirt and grime into his body. He smelled disgusting, rancid even…but it had worked. Now he was arriving in the dark depths of the opening cavern, having finally located it after days of trekking after his kind. He knew he was outnumbered, and he knew he was outpowered.

But…he also knew how he could cause enough chaos to bring down the city and get his friends out. That WELL. If he could get to the Sapphire Well and destroy it, gunk it up…everything would go wrong at once. The dragons would be scrambling to fix things and he could use the chaos to help his friends escape, and to free them from their bonds.

And it just so happened that he had arrived at the cavern…at the same time as Mr. Bloke.

"Oh, my dear boy, how good to finally meet you in person-"

"SHHH!" Sakamoto held his hands up. "Shh, shh, shhhh! Keep it quiet. They might hear you in there!" He whispered, pointing down into the dark depths of the cavern. "There are patrols, you know. They go by every half an hour like clockwork. We have around…9 minutes or so before they come here and we need to find a place to hide before we can go in. I'll have to take them out before we can get to the city."

"My dear, dear boy. We only need one of them to be "taken out"…and I'll handle it." Mr. Bloke said warmly. "I'm not just a former court mage who's magical power has lingered on. Oh no, no, no!" He cheerily intoned. "Being a ghost monster gives you one very, very important ability. A most useful one indeed…possession."

Sakamoto stared. "What is this…possession you speak of?" He asked.

Mr. Bloke toothily grinned. "Let me show you…" He said. "Follow closely after me…" He intoned as he ushered Sakamoto down after him into the deep recesses of the cavern…